Feminist Generation Stands with Survivors of the Farmworker Movement

As a survivor-led organization, Feminist Generation honors the immeasurable courage Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas have shown in publicly disclosing the years of sexual and emotional abuse they endured at the hands of United Farm Workers co-founder, Cesar Chavez. This truth-telling comes at an immense cost to the survivors, who for decades have carried this trauma alone. No longer. We see you. We love you. We believe you.

For those who want to attack the timing of these testimonies, may we remind you that survivors owe you nothing. There is no “perfect” survivor and there is no “right” moment to share such devastating experiences. Especially when the person being exposed yields considerable power, influence, and community trust. Our heart breaks learning that these young girls and women sacrificed themselves in order to protect the future of the farmworker movement at large. This is a position they should never have been placed in. This is patriarchy in action. 

We also know that gender based violence in organizing spaces is rarely committed by one person alone. Many people play a role – whether that be through condoning harmful power dynamics they directly benefit from, dismissing voices of dissent, unequivocally protecting abusers, or disguising their predatory nature through jokes and the weaponizing of their own trauma. 

All too often the people perpetuating this violence are men. Deplatforming one man, does not get to the root cause of a violent masculinity that exists far beyond just movement spaces, but in all of our communities. An unchecked masculinity that seeks to dominate and exploit. That preys on vulnerable children and young women. That thrives on silence and intimidation. 

We are moved by the bravery Dolores Huerta, Ana Murguia, and Debra Rojas have embodied in the face of such hardship and are called to action in line with their revolutionary spirits. Feminist Generation demands that any celebrations, monuments, and other sites in Cesar Chavez’ memory be immediately renamed to properly honor the contributions of everyday farmworkers responsible for progressing the United States labor and Chicanx movement forward.

We uplift and center longtime feminist organizer Dolores Huerta’s strength and dignity but also her calls to action for the empowerment of women and girls and the end of systems of oppression. A longtime advocate of the ERA, we know the changes needed in our country are not abstract but are tangible and material, and most importantly urgent. We cannot wait any longer. No more sexual violence. No more gendered violence in every and any community, now!